Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 224 – You are all fools and not worth a fight

Su Yun, Ye Luo, and Bai Yuelou are all students of Tian Dao Yuan. Among them, Bai Yuelou was rewarded by the emperor for his contributions during the rebellion in the north and became a student of Tian Dao Yuan, but he did not directly enter the school.

Because of this, Su Yun became the chief priest of Tian Dao Yuan, and Ye Luo became a professor of the school, representing Tian Dao Yuan.

The three of them came to the site of the debate between the new and old schools and could not help but attract attention.

Tian Dao Yuan was established relatively late, during the reign of Emperor Yuan. Emperor Yuan reformed education and promoted imperial schools. At that time, the highest school in Yuan Shuo was Tai Xue Yuan, but Emperor Yuan believed that although the scholarship of Tai Xue Yuan was brilliant, it did not exceed that of other schools.

He wanted to create a place to study the wisdom of the saints, a place to inherit the teachings of the ancient saints, and a place to give birth to saints!

Therefore, Emperor Yuan selected the best students with the best qualifications and intelligence in the world to form Tian Dao Yuan.

In this debate between the new and old schools, even the second-ranked Tai Xue Yuan sent students to challenge the students of Tian Dao Yuan. These students were naturally exceptional in their cultivation and strength.

When Su Yun and the others arrived, they were met with the gaze of many people, some expectant, some suspicious, some contemptuous, and some uneasy.

Su Yun, who usually turned a blind eye, walked straight to the most intense part of the debate.

Ye Luo reported to him the news he had learned during this time and whispered, "The situation in the capital is very strange. In the debate between the new and old schools, sixty or seventy students have already been killed or injured. These students are not ordinary. In addition to coming from various imperial schools, there are also students from Tai Xue Yuan. Many people came to take the exam for Tian Dao Yuan and died like this, but it didn't even alarm the Jinwu Guard!"

Su Yun's heart stirred. The Jinwu Guard controlled the northern army of the capital and was nominally under the control of Qiu Shuijing, but in reality, they held great power and controlled the military. They were a powerful presence!

It was indeed strange that the Jinwu Guard did not intervene.

"The Jinwu Guard in the capital is watching this debate, and Mr. Shuijing has not ordered them to intervene either. Saint Xue also did not ask anything, and Prime Minister Wen is the same. What's strange is that Prime Minister Wen's son, Wen Yanfeng, also took action this time and supported the new school."

Ye Luo continued, "In addition, I also learned that the dispute between the new and old schools this time is related to the internal struggle of the royal family. Emperor Yuan's son, Yuan Wuji, returned from overseas, and there are certain members of the royal family behind him. Therefore, Di Ping did not intervene in this matter but watched from the sidelines."

He hesitated for a moment and said, "When the emperor does not move, rivers of blood will flow. The danger in the capital is probably a hundred times greater than before the rebellion in the north!"

Su Yun's heart stirred.

The three officials, Prime Minister, Grand Commandant, and Imperial Censor, held great power, and each of them had a small court of civil and military officials, representing the three largest forces in the capital besides the emperor!

Prime Minister Wen Guanshan, Grand Commandant Xue Qingfu, and Imperial Censor Qiu Shuijing were engaged in a power struggle, which was probably related to the dispute between the new and old schools.

The struggle between the royal family and Di Ping was also probably related to this debate between the new and old schools.

"All the officials under Prime Minister Wen's command, such as the Sizhi, Changshi, Zhengshi, Shaoshi, Caoyuan, Yicao, and Facao, are all high officials from the aristocratic families who have sent their children to support Wen Yanfeng."Ye Luo hesitated and said, "Senior Brother, you know I always have a good eye for treasures, but this one is too risky. One wrong move and we'll be dead! We can't act on this..."

Su Yun smiled and replied, "Don't worry, my first thought when I arrived in the Eastern Capital was to keep a low profile. It's not like Shaofang, where I still had the title of ambassador. But in the Eastern Capital, even the title of the Tower Master of Tongtian wouldn't be enough."

Ye Luo relaxed and laughed, "Good to know, Senior Brother."

Bai Yuelou was also tense and murmured, "As a disciple of the Sage, I think it's better for me not to get involved in this and avoid suspicion..."

Su Yun stopped him and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Junior Brother Bai. We are all disciples of the Heavenly Dao Academy, whether it's the new or old school, whether it's Minister Wen or Sage Xue, we don't take sides."

Bai Yuelou asked cautiously, "Is that true?"

"It's true."

As they spoke, the three of them passed through the crowded forum of the debate between the new and old schools. It was not a single entity, but was divided into more than ten debate sites by the skilled scholars who had mastered the art of building spiritual weapons such as bridges, houses, tiles, steles, and buildings.

Many scholars were debating and discussing the merits and demerits of traditional and new techniques. Often, they would start fighting while talking.

The three of them passed by one of the debate sites, where a high platform connected by a Japanese pagoda tree stood. The Japanese pagoda tree was as straight as a spear, twenty-four or five zhang tall. At the top, a cloud-like branch held a chessboard, covering an area of several mu.

Many scholars stood on the leaves of the Japanese pagoda tree, watching the two people on the chessboard compete.

Other forums were often the same. They were high, with cloud bridges connecting them.

The two people on the chessboard caught Su Yun's attention, and he stopped to watch.

One of the scholars was a woman who used very strange divine abilities that seemed to control plants. With a wave of her hand, vines grew wildly and chased the scholar who was fighting her in the air.

"The descendant of the Shennong clan."

Su Yun's eyes flickered. Chi Xiaoyao had seen this kind of divine ability in the Thunder Strike Valley in Shaofang and had mentioned the Shennong clan to him.

The Shennong clan's divine abilities were mainly based on agriculture and medicine, so Chi Xiaoyao was particularly interested in them.

However, the Shennong clan was extremely ancient, and even those who studied this lineage at the Imperial College were few and far between, so it was no longer considered a prominent school.

"Since the number of scholars from the Shennong clan is very small, is this woman the same girl who appeared in the Thunder Strike Valley that day?"

Su Yun's eyes dimmed. "If so, then it's very suspicious that she appeared in Shaofang and now in the Eastern Capital."

"Ye Luo, half an hour later, I want all the information on this girl!" Su Yun turned to Ye Luo and said.

Ye Luo quickly took note and smiled bitterly, "I'll go to the Heavenly Dao Academy and ask Bu Qiurong to investigate for me."

Su Yun nodded and walked ahead. In front of them was the grandest place of this debate, the Imperial Map of the Jade Emperor!

The Imperial Map of the Jade Emperor was a spiritual weapon of the Yuan family of the royal family. When the Eastern Capital was built, Emperor Ai invited the best painter to draw the newly built Eastern Capital, which was then collected by the royal family.Although the Jade Emperor's Capital Map was not a great holy spiritual weapon, it was the result of countless painters working together. It was rumored that if this treasure was unfolded, it could create another capital city in the sky!

This time, the royal family took out the Jade Emperor's Capital Map as the biggest altar for this debate.

The scroll of the Jade Emperor's Capital Map was laid out from the sky to the ground. On the ground, it was still paper, with a thick painting scroll, but in the sky, it was a magnificent metropolis with jade buildings and towers, white clouds floating, and no borders to be found in the painting!

It was like another capital city appearing in front of them!

However, this capital city was much smaller, and the buildings looked petite. But the Jade Emperor Mountain was hidden, and did not appear.

It was believed that it required immense spiritual power to activate this spiritual weapon, so the Jade Emperor's Capital Map only showed the bottom layer of the city.

But even so, it was still stunning.

At this moment, the city in the painting was like a huge platform, with clouds extending from outside the painting, connecting with the city in the painting.

The painting and reality were strangely combined together.

Above the city in the painting, the cloud bridges intertwined, and scholars, officials, and even commoners stood on the bridges, with clear distinctions between them, obviously having their own thoughts, and looking towards Su Yun, Ye Luo, and Bai Yuelou.

"Su Jiexiu, Qiu Taichang did not come. Since you are a Jiexiu, you are also one of the leaders of the Tiandao Academy. So, does your Tiandao Academy support the new school or the old school?" A government official asked loudly.

Ye Luo became nervous and whispered, "Big Brother, don't take sides..."

Su Yun nodded, "Junior Brother, don't worry. I know the depth of the capital city. One wrong word could lead to death."

Ye Luo breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Yun looked around and saw that the eyes of the countless people in the city in the painting were all on him.

Su Yun said, "The old school is the classic of all saints and has been blessed by the virtue of all living beings. Our Tiandao Academy started by studying the old school."

The people who supported the old school gradually showed joy on their faces, and someone cheered, "The Tiandao Academy supports the old school!"

Ye Luo bit his lip and reminded in a low voice, "Big Brother, don't take sides!"

"But the old school's unique skills are outdated," Su Yun turned his words and said, "The new school originated overseas, with great courage and progress, constantly improving, surpassing the old school in areas where the old school cannot, exploring where the old school has not. In terms of divine powers, transformations, and practical applications, the new school is stronger than the old school."

The cheers suddenly stopped, and the expressions of those who supported the old school turned from joy to anger and shame. Someone gritted their teeth and said in a stern voice, "The Tiandao Academy is a place to study the old school's unique skills, but now it has become a traitor!"

Su Yun turned his words again and said loudly, "However, even though the new school has developed for so long, it still cannot break away from the category of the old school's classics. Although it has made some achievements, it is still in the shadow of the old school and has not been able to find a new path."

Ye Luo's mind was buzzing, "I told you not to take sides, not to offend both sides... but being a fence-sitter is better than being beaten..."

"So," Su Yun looked around and smiled, "Whether it's the old school or the new school, whether it's those who study the old school or those who study the new school, in the eyes of our Tiandao Academy, they are all a pile of garbage, not worth a fight."

"Big Brother, you're not being a fence-sitter!"Ye Luo's face turned pale: "It's over..."

Su Yun's clear and melodious voice spread throughout the capital city in the painting and the various debate grounds outside: "Our fellow disciples came here to prove this point to all of you. You are all fools and not worth a fight."